Alice Capsey shines as England’s T20 hopefuls chase down Sri Lanka total

After the best part of a century, then, the England cricket team finally made their debut in the Commonwealth Games. The firework smoke had not even cleared when Katherine Brunt, who had been presented with a ceremonial cap before the start of play to mark the start of her 100th international T20 match, dismissed Vishmi Gunaratne lbw with the very first delivery. For a minute Brunt seemed to be the only person in Edgbaston who had realised what had happened, and her appeal echoed out loudly around the stunned ground. And then the umpire’s finger went up and everyone else joined in with her.

The place was about a third full, which was a fair turnout by the standards of some of the events at the Games, but considerably less than the organisers had promised were going to attend. England’s games were supposed to be all sold out.

Still, they were a loud, happy, enthusiastic crowd. And it was at least a better turnout than the last time the sport was included in the Commonwealths. When the men played a 50-over tournament at Kuala Lumpur in 1998 the England team did not bother to show up because it clashed with the County Championship, which gives an idea of how priorities have shifted in the last 24 years.

Back then, the authorities were not sure they needed the Commonwealth Games. This time, their participation is a crucial part of the sport’s bid to prove it should be included in the Olympics. Cricket has been left off from the provisional list of sports for Los Angeles 2028, but there is a chance it may yet be included when the organisers make the final decision later next year. The ICC has reportedly spent $3m on lobbying to try to persuade them to do it, too. Whether it is a success or not will likely depend on whether